Category: Reviews

If you are looking for a printer that is capable of printing everything from documents, email and web pages to photos and can copy and scan too, the HP Envy 4520 Wireless All-in-One Photo Printer will fit the bill without breaking the bank.

I have this printer in my office and love it. It’s nothing fancy but it is a little workhorse and suites my needs just fine.

The HP Envy 4520 is a multifunction inkjet printer. I say multifunction instead of all in one because it does not have fax capabilities. Of course with online fax services available that’s not really a big issue. But what it does do, it does very well.

Printing

The main thing you need a printer to do is print. And depending on what you want to print determines whether or not you’ll like this printer. It does great with documents. Printing at a rate of 9.5 ppm for black and white is pretty good for me. I’m using it to print basic documents most of the time and that usually works out just fine.

It prints color documents at a rate of 6.8 ppm. Color documents print well. It can do borderless pictures too. I have noticed lines in the colors when printing photos on the default setting so make sure you adjust the settings to best quality when printing images.

It prints several sizes and weights of paper; I have a medium sized happy planner which is 7”x9 ¼” (not a default choice for the printer) and I like to print my own planner pages on cover stock paper. With the proper settings adjusted it prints those pages even in duplex just fine.

Copying & Scanning

The HP Envy 4520 doesn’t have an auto document feeder for scanning. You’ll have to scan pages one at a time by lifting the lid and placing the paper on the glass. If you don’t have a lot of copying/scanning to do it’s not a problem. On the plus side, that makes the printer a little bit smaller which is great for a home office.

The copies come out clear. You can read the small letters on the page and lines appear smooth. But if you compare your copy to the original you can see a small difference in the clarity.

Scanned images on the computer are clear as well, in fact, my OCR software can detect the text easily. If you run OCR on your scanned documents before you save them they will be searchable on your computer, and with pdf software you can edit them and create different versions.

Ink Cartridges

It uses HP 63 Black and HP 63 Tri-Color ink cartridges. These cartridges are comparably priced with other ink cartridges. Print yield for the average size cartridges are 190 pages for black and 165 pages for tri-color. The HP 63 XL versions yield 480 black and 330 tri-color. So which should you choose? That depends on how often you print. The ink in inkjet printers have a tendency to dry up if you don’t use them often. So if you don’t print on at least a weekly basis, you’re probably not going to get the full page yield from your ink cartridges. So your best choice would be the average cartridges vs the XL because you’ll be losing less page yield.

HP Instant Ink

HP now offers a service with some of their printers that will send you ink as needed for a monthly fee. The printer connects with HP wirelessly and alerts them when ink is getting to a certain level and they automatically mail you out replacement cartridges.

I’ve heard different opinions on this service. Some like it, some don’t. As for me, I like it. I’m notorious for realizing I need ink right in the middle of a project. In theory, I should have a backup cartridge all the time, but like I said, in theory. Reality is that it usually doesn’t happen. So letting HP do that for me has saved me time and unnecessary trips to the office supply store.

Price wise it works out better for me too. I don’t know that it’s actually 50% like they say it can be but I know that can vary based on usage. There are different plans to choose. I went with the lowest one and haven’t had any problems with it.

Connectivity

The Envy 4520 connects wirelessly with an 802.11b/g/n connection to your router. Mobile printing capabilities allow you to connect and print from basically any wireless device. I have printed from my phone, my laptop, and my desktop computer all with ease. This is also how HP keeps the printer’s software up to date and detects ink usage if you opted for the HP Instant Ink service.

Setup is a breeze. Just follow the included quick start guide and you’ll be good to go.

Dimensions

The HP Envy 4520 measures roughly 5 inches high by 17 ½ inches wide by 15 inches deep which fits neatly on most any shelf or desk with room to easily open the copy lid. It only weighs about 14 pounds.

The 100-sheet input tray pulls out from the bottom of the printer and has adjustable sliders to feed different sizes of paper through straight. It has guidelines for some of the popular media sizes like letter, A4, and envelopes.

When you print, a little bar extends above the input tray to hold your printed pages. After you’re done you can just tuck it back in while not in use.

Consumer Ratings

It’s got pretty good reviews rating an impressive 4 out of 5 stars.

PROs

On the plus side, people who own this printer have commented that it is ENERGY STAR power saving, easy to set up, has very good print quality, and the monitoring it does of itself is very customizable.

CONs

On the negative side, people who own this printer have commented that the software comes with a lot of bloat ware, that the monitoring can be intrusive if you don’t adjust the settings, and that it tends to jam particularly when printing envelopes.

Price

The HP ENVY 4520 All-in-One Printer is a reasonably priced printer. With a little smart shopping you can pick one up for under $75. Not bad for a little workhorse like this.

Check the current price on Amazon or at Walmart.

Conclusion

The HP ENVY 4520 All-in-One Printer is a good choice for a small office, home office, or personal use. Here’s a quick recap of some of the most appealing features:

Print, copy, scan, photo, wireless

Print speed ISO: Up to 9.5 ppm (black), up to 6.8 ppm (color)

Auto duplex printing; Scan to email; Borderless printing

Comes with HP Instant Ink Ready Cartridges

These are some nice features for such a reasonably priced and compact printer. Just as a reminder when you buy any printer, it will include the power cord of course but they usually don’t come with the USB connection cable so if you don’t already have one you can pick one up here.

This will be a short post. Just wanted to share something positive with you.

As you may already know, I’m a member of a wonderful online community called Wealthy Affiliate. (you can see my review of it here). Anyway one of the things I mention is how supportive the community there is of each other. Here is a perfect example.

I posted a question on the forum about finding quality images for a website, and boom! In less than 15 minutes one of the wonderful members responded with a very helpful post.

Wealthy Affiliate is the online community for Affiliate Marketers. It’s full of training, tools, and a bunch of supportive like-minded people.

So what is affiliate marketing? Here’s my definition of it.

Practically every company that sells things has an affiliate program. When you join that affiliate program they provide you a link to promote their products or services. You then place that link in places online (typically your own website) and market it to attract potential customers. When someone clicks on your link it leads them to that company. Then when they make a purchase from that company, you get a commission on the sale.

Some affiliate programs will pay a commission for simply providing a lead. For example, someone signs up for their email list or fills out a survey.

It sounds pretty straight forward right? But how do you find and join these programs? And how do you market the links? There are so many answers to these questions. I couldn’t begin to explain it all or teach you how. But I know who can.

Yes, there are several websites and programs devoted to this subject. So why did I say “the online community for affiliate marketers”? Because it is a one of a kind all-inclusive place for affiliate marketers. It’s a training program, a community, a whole set of tools, and more. When you join, you won’t need to look anywhere else for training or support.

But is it really everything you’ll ever need? You’ll have to decide that for yourself. In this review I’ll explain why I believe it’s an absolute must if you want to succeed in the field of affiliate marketing.

The Training

The training is what lead me to Wealthy Affiliate in the first place. It’s almost overwhelming what they have to offer.

The Classrooms

There are at least 12 training classrooms. Each classroom is chock full of tutorials, videos, and courses all wrapped around one basic area of marketing.

For example; Keyword, Niche, and Market Research is one classroom which contains over 40 tutorials, 20 videos, 4 courses, and a huge question & answer section. All of which are about research.

The Certification Program & Affiliate Bootcamp

These are sets of lessons and tasks that start you from the very beginning and teach you about all the aspects you need to know in order to build an online affiliate business. Each lesson has tasks to complete and a dedicated discussion for that particular lesson.

This would be my suggestion to get you going. The beauty of it is that you are building as you learn rather than reading about something then being left to put it into action on your own.

The discussions are tremendously helpful. If you struggle with a particular concept, check the discussion and see if someone has answered your question already. If not, post your question there and I guarantee you will get a response.

The main difference I see between the Certification Program and the Affiliate Bootcamp is that you choose your niche for the Certification Program and the Affiliate Bootcamp is geared towards promoting Wealthy Affiliate. You still choose your niche but one that relates at least somewhat to affiliate marketing.

While we’re talking about their affiliate program, take the time to look at it. It’s probably the best paying program you’ll ever find. Not to mention the fact that they teach you how to do it.

Tools

Website Building Tools

Wealthy Affiliate has its own robust website building and hosting plan called SiteRubix. You’ll build your site using the widely used website platform, WordPress. There is an excellent website security package and site backup included.

WordPress has literally thousands of plugins and themes available to enhance and change the look and functionality of your website. No two websites ever need look alike. It’s not like a cookie cutter website template that everyone uses that all look basically the same. If you know anything about SEO (search engine optimization) you know that it’s important to be unique.

The free membership comes with two websites hosted on their system and not for a limited time either. They’re yours as long as you like. Even if you don’t upgrade to a premium (paid) membership.

Keyword Tool

A keyword is the word or words someone types into a search engine to find what they are looking for. A keyword tool will use your topic to find the most common keywords used to find it. The keyword tool at Wealthy Affiliate will give you plenty of detail about each one. This is how you discover what information to share on your website to attract the people who are looking for your topic.

The Community

The training and the tools are excellent features but it’s the community that sets them so far above anything else.

This is what I consider to be the best feature of Wealthy Affiliate. There is a live chat available 24/7/365 (which is available for the first 7 days of the free membership). You’ll have your own blog page to share your story and experiences. And an extremely active forum.

You’ll find a helpful thread on anything Affiliate Marketing related. Being a member of Wealthy Affiliate means you are part of the most supportive community I have ever experienced. I have never, not once, seen a snarky remark or unnecessarily harsh criticism there.

Everyone is SO helpful and SO supportive of each other. I’m usually not very comfortable putting myself out there online. I’m fairly quiet on social media and more of a lurker in forums, except for this one. I’m comfortable asking questions and offering assistance. We love to cheer each other on through are successes and help each other out with learning and questions.

The owners Kyle and Carson are very active in this community. It’s not at all uncommon to hear from one of them in the forum. Offering help and encouragement whenever possible.

There are thousands of members here. You’re peers range from newbie’s to millionaires (yes, I said millionaires). People don’t leave this community once they are successful. They stick around and help others along the way and continue to learn. To be successful is to know that there is always more to learn and ways to improve. A career in affiliate marketing is not a destination. It’s a journey. There is always something new to learn in the ever-changing internet world. And once you join this community you’ll never have to look beyond it to keep your skills up to date.

Pros & Cons

Pros

The benefits of joining Wealthy Affiliate include training, tools, support, and an active online community of like-minded people.

Affiliate Marketing can be a very lucrative career. If you’re going into this field, joining Wealthy Affiliate gives you the opportunity to align yourself with those that can help you succeed.

Cons

You will have to work at it.

You won’t be rolling in the dough the minute you put up your first link. People won’t flock to your site automatically as soon as it’s launched. But with consistency and perseverance you can make a full time living. And it may happen quicker than you think.

There is a wide spread and huge misconception online and offline about Affiliate Marketing. A lot of people will tell you it’s a scam, that there’s too much competition, or that the market is too saturated to actually make a living at it. I’m here to tell you that none of that is true. Affiliate Marketing is a very viable career choice and there are ample opportunities for you to succeed.

Price

Wealthy Affiliate offers two types of memberships. A free one and a paid one.

The free one is not a trial offer. You’ll never be forced to become a premium member. They won’t take down your two free websites just because you don’t upgrade.

But obviously there are more benefits if you choose to upgrade to a premium (paid) membership.

Check out this chart of what’s available to you with each membership option.

To Summarize

Wealthy Affiliate is the place for Affiliate Marketers. If you want to succeed in this field, you want to join Wealthy Affiliate.

There are state of the art tools and training at your disposal and the community is extremely active and supportive.

With the option of a free membership that comes with two free websites it’s a great place to get started even if you have a $0 budget.

For my first review I chose a product that I have in my office and absolutely love! The Fujitsu ScanSnap Document Scanner is one of my favorite pieces of office equipment. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m a bit of an office supply/equipment junkie. So of course, I looked at several before I chose Fujitsu. And I am definitely happy with my choice.

As a side note, you can actually make money with this little beauty. As a matter of fact, I have done just that. More on that later.

The document feeder

If you’ve ever used a flatbed scanner you’ll appreciate the ease and speed of the ScanSnap’s automatic document feeder. No more scanning one side, flipping the page to scan the other. It automatically detects both sides of the page. If the back of the page is blank, it’ll ignore it.

Load up 50 sheets of paper, push the one button, and watch it snap thru them at 25 page per minutes in color or monochrome. It recognizes the paper size automatically so it doesn’t matter if it’s A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Business Card, Post Card, Letter, Legal or Custom Size.

It has an ultrasonic sensor that can recognize if more than one page goes thru at a time. But there is an interactive interface that allows you to bypass intentional double-feed like a receipt taped on an expense report.

It has a built-in, dual-core ‘GI’ image processing engine that offers the speed of a much more expensive high-speed, high-volume scanner thru the use of USB 3.0 support.

The software

The Fujitsu ScanSnap has productivity software for Windows and Mac. The ScanSnap Quick Menu pops up when you scan a page giving you the options of what to do with it.

And oh the options you have!

ScanSnap iX500 comes bundled with searchable PDF creation software which lets you not only see and print the generated data but you can edit generated PDF files

Easily scan and extract information from receipts, and export the data into CSV. Imagine this feature at tax time.

Scan and Organize Business Card Information and you could even send them to Excel, Outlook Express, Salesforce, and other databases

Scan photos. I scanned all of the photos in my parent’s photo albums to create a slideshow for their anniversary. The detail is incredible. And now my sisters and I all have copies of these precious memories as well. Mom saved them to her digital picture frame which continually plays a slideshow of family memories.

· It generates password and digital ID attached PDF files that are ideal for safeguarding personal information and other confidential information that needs to be protected.

Not to pick on NeatDesk, but I have used one of their scanners as well, and it uses proprietary software to file everything, making it difficult to get the information scanned where you actually need it. This drives me nuts.

With the ScanSnap you can send the data to Word, Excel, e-mail, and SharePoint or practically anywhere else you want. It’s so flexible.

Connectivity

Wireless or USB connectivity

With the ScanSnap you can scan to and view across a range of popular cloud services, or wirelessly scan to your PC, Mac, iPad/iPhone, or Android device.

The newly-developed GI processing engine means that users can now wirelessly operate the scanner via their smart device and use the ScanSnap Connect App to create high quality scanned images that can be saved to the device, manipulated, and are easily available when and where you need them.

You have the option to synchronize your scanned documents between ScanSnap Organizer on your computer and the ScanSnap Connect App on your mobile device using Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive.

Dimensions

It takes up very little space in your office for such a powerful tool. And because its wireless, it doesn’t have to take up valuable desktop real estate.

Features

Here’s a list of some of my favorite features about the Fujitsu ScanSnap,

One button scan

Searchable and securable pdfs

Multiple output options including jpg

Scan to software – word, excel, …

Wi-Fi or USB connectivity to a computer

Scan Directly to Mobile Devices

ScanSnap Cloud

Fast Double-Sided Scanning

Advanced Paper Feeding System

What’s In The Box

The ScanSnap comes with an AC cable, AC adapter, USB cable (USB 3.0 supported), Safety Precautions, Setup DVD-ROM, and a ScanSnap Carrier Sheet. So you’re ready to go right off the bat.

Pros & Cons

Pros

The ScanSnap feeds the paper thru fast and processes them fast too. Wi-Fi connectivity and the app make it available for more of your devices. The software is easy to use and understand. The scans are good quality and can be searchable and securable.

Cons

Pay attention to the default settings when you install the software. Some of them may not be what you want. For example, the default for OCR (optical character recognition) is to only process the first page. Why would you want only the first page searchable?

Photo scanning is fine for online use but you’ll have to use photo editing software to clean up some of the noise if you want them to print crystal clear.

Consumer Ratings

Price

Conclusion

As I said in the beginning, this is one of my favorite pieces of office equipment. It’s a solid devise from a reputable manufacturer. You won’t regret having this little gem at your disposal.

Oh and if you’re wondering how I earned money with this scanner. I created digital filing systems for some of my clients from their physical files. I made the documents searchable with the OCR software and organized them just like their physical files where. Saving them space in their office and time in finding the files when they needed them.